Crawling arthropod intercepting device and method

ABSTRACT

An intercepting device (e.g. a furniture coaster device) is placed under furniture (bed, sofa, chair. etc.), other climbable object, or the floor adjacent an object to intercept crawling arthropods and other crawling pests. The intercepting device can be used to monitor the presence of crawling arthropods and other crawling pests (such as bed bugs, ants, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, etc.), reduce pest numbers, and monitor efficacy of pest control procedures. The intercepting device includes pitfall trap surfaces that form multiple pitfall traps.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of Ser. No. 12/387,645 filed May 5, 2009,which claims benefits and priority of provisional application Ser. No.61/126,698 filed May 6, 2008, the entire disclosures of both of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a crawling arthropod intercepting device that canbe placed under or adjacent furniture (bed, sofa, chair, etc.) and otherobjects to intercept crawling arthropods including crawling insects andother crawling pests.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Phylum Arthropoda, Class Insecta,Order Hemiptera, Family Cimicidae) has sucked the blood of humans forthousands of years (Panagiotakopulu & Buckland 1999). The tropical bedbug, Cimex hemipterus Fabr., also has a long history of sucking theblood of humans in the tropics and subtropics. To complicate matters,there is a small group of related blood sucking bugs in the familyCimicidae including bat bugs and swallow bugs that will feed on humansand can be confused with human bed bugs. All of these human bloodsucking bugs have no tarsal pads and can only climb a vertical surfaceby using tarsal claws hooked into a rough surface (Usinger, 1966).

Bed bug adults are reddish-brown, oval, wingless, flattened insectsabout 6-9 mm long that are readily seen with the naked eye. Newlyhatched bugs feed at the first opportunity. They molt five times beforereaching maturity and require at least one blood meal between each molt.Bed bug adults often survive up to 2 months without food, but undercertain circumstances can live a year or more without feeding. Bed bugsare active during the nighttime and hide during the daytime into tinycrevices or cracks. They rapidly move into a refuge when disturbed bylight or air movement so they are rarely seen by the person who isbitten. Bed bugs are able to cling to possessions using tarsal claws andhide in small spaces so that they may easily be transported in atraveler's belongings (Usinger 1966).

Most U.S. householders of this generation have never seen a bed bug(Busvine 1980). In the 1940s and 1950s in U.S. and Europe, DDT spraysreplaced all other methods of bed bug control resulting in a decline inbed bug infestations (Mallis 1960).

DDT was very effective but the first bed bug resistance to DDT wasobserved by Johnson and Hill in 1948. As time went by and differentpesticides were used, bed bugs developed resistance to each in turn(Cwilich et al. 1957, Fletcher & Axtell 1993, Lofgren et al. 1958, Mooreand Miller 2006). During the last decade, bed bugs have become a seriouscommercial health problem in resort hotels, apartments, collegedormitories, and cruise ships. Less effective and shorter acting bed bugpesticides have contributed to the resurgence of human bed bugs and aworld-wide pandemic is taking place (Doggett et al. 2006, Romero et al.2007). When hungry, bed bugs actively seek and find humans using acombination of cues (Lehane 2005, Reinhardt & Siva-Jothy 2007). Carbondioxide is an activator and attractant to bed bugs (Marx 1955). Heat isan attractant to bed bugs (Rivnay 1932, Aboul-Nasr & Erakey 1967). And,as with all blood-sucking arthropods, host-emitted odors are reliablecues for both activation behaviors and attraction behaviors (Aboul-Nasr& Erakey 1968a, Sutcliffe 1987, Murlis et al. 1992).

Prior work using human attraction cues to lure crawling blood-suckingarthropods other than bed bugs is known. Montemurro in U.S. Pat. No.5,189,830 in 1993 discloses trap using carbon dioxide to attract ticks.Keenan in U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,176 in 1993 discloses the use of heat andvolatile odors to attract fleas and ticks to trap.

A rough, vertical surface is attractive to bed bugs. To walk up avertical surface, around a human body, or upside down under a bed, bedbugs use their hook-like tarsal claws to engage fibers and surfaceroughness (Usinger 1960). Hungry bed bugs tend to crawl upward on roughsurfaces and bed bugs will crawl on cotton or wool (Aboul-Nasr & Erakey1968b). Bat bugs walk up the walls of caves and will climb vertically upa rough piece of wood (Overal & Wingate 1976). In contrast, a smoothsurface is repellent to bed bugs and bed bugs will avoid the smoothsurface of silk (Aboul-Nasr A& Erakey 1968b). Smooth glass containersare used routinely to contain laboratory colonies of crawling insectsbecause they cannot gain traction on smooth surfaces (Marshall 1981). Bythe mid 18^(th) century, cheap metal bedsteads were known to deter bedbugs (Wright 1962).

The pitfall trap is an adaptation of hunting techniques that dates backto primitive man. The basic insect pitfall trap outdoors comprises acontainer (a jar, can, or other container) buried in the soil so thatthe top edge of the container is at the same level of soil surface orjust below the soil surface. Crawling insects and spiders fall into thetrap and are unable to escape because they cannot climb up the smoothinterior surface. Cockroach traps with pitfall aspects have caught bedbugs (Mellanby 1939).

Smooth, hard surface of pitfall interior surface can be created fromglass, ceramics, metals, finish treatments on polished wood, finishtreatments on paper, and plastics. The surface roughness (Ra) of anoptical grade mirror finish is 0 to 0.5 microinch (0.0127 micron), of asatin finish is 50 to 60 microinch (1.27 to 1.524 micron), and of anembossed or coarsely textured product is up to 300 microinch (7.62micron) (Hebert 2007).

Many crawling insect traps with pitfall aspects or moats to preventinsects from reaching food have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat.No. 2,790,417 issued to Brembeck, U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,149 issued toEast, U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,003 issued to Du Mond et al., U.S. Pat. No.5,148,626 issued to Haake, U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,609 issued to Partelow etal., U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,365 issued to Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,798issued to Rera, U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,080 issued to Haney, U.S. Pat. No.5,125,363 issued to McGaha and U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,772 issued to Salinasall employ a device that may prevent crawling insects such as ants andcockroaches from reaching a pet food dish. Sherman in U.S. Pat. No.4,608,774 in 1986 discloses an indoor pitfall trap for cockroaches.Spragins in U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,062 in 2005 discloses an adaptation ofan outdoor pitfall trap for both crawling and flying insects.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,506 issued to Sanders also discloses a device thatmay prevent crawling insects such as ants and cockroaches from reachinga food dish. However, this patented device requires the use of a stickysubstance to trap the crawling insects. This patent will trap insects aslong as the insects themselves cannot form a physical bridge over thesticky substance. The Lang U.S. Patent application No. 20070044372 for abed bug monitor trap also requires the use of a sticky substance to trapand it also discloses use of heat as an attractant for bed bugs.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,167,978 issued to Jennerich, U.S. Pat. No. 1,265,481issued to Mosby, U.S. Pat. No. 944,568 issued to Mercer, U.S. Pat. No.52,576 issued to Lamb, U.S. Pat. No. 533,017 issued to Peeler, and U.S.Pat. No. 21,726 issued to Shell, all teach devices devoted to trappinginsects.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,192 issued to Adams discloses a bird feeder having acup like container for the bird seed that is protected by moat orpesticide from crawling insects. U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,833 issued to Stolldiscloses a device that creates a double catchment area barrier betweenan item to be protected and insects that could crawl downward from anoverhead surface or upward from below.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,671 issued to Riedl discloses apparatus that can beattached to a pet food dish or picnic table leg capable of preventingcrawling insects from infesting a food source.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,505,433, 6,510,648 and 6,513,280 issued to Robertsdiscloses a coaster for shielding against crawling arthropods.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention provides a crawling arthropod intercepting device that canbe placed under or adjacent furniture (bed, sofa, chair, etc.) and otherobjects to intercept crawling arthropods including crawling insects andother crawling pests. An illustrative embodiment of the inventioncomprises an intercepting device that is adapted to be placed on a floorunder a furniture leg (bed leg, sofa leg, chair leg, etc.) or climbableupstanding surface of other objects which may be or become infested inorder to intercept crawling arthropods including crawling insects andother crawling pests and prevent them from moving between the furniture(or other object) and the floor. In another illustrative embodiment ofthe invention, the intercepting device can be placed on the flooradjacent furniture or other object to intercept crawling arthropods. Theintercepting device can be used to monitor the presence of crawlingarthropods including crawling insects and other crawling pests (such asbed bugs, ants, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, scorpions etc.), reducepest numbers, and monitor efficacy of pest control procedures.

A particular illustrative embodiment of the invention provides anintercepting device comprising an exterior, upstanding climbable surfacethat crawling arthropods such as crawling insects can climb and firstand second pitfall traps disposed inwardly of the climbable exteriorsurface for trapping crawling arthropods, wherein the first pitfall trapcomprises an inner receptacle that receives a leg of furniture or otherobject and the second pitfall trap comprises an outer receptacle andwherein crawling arthropods are trapped in the inner receptacle and/orouter receptacle as a result of being unable to climb out, preventingcrawling arthropods from moving between the furniture (or other object)and the floor. The exterior surface is tactically attractive to crawlingarthropods and has a fibrous or otherwise rough surface to render theexterior surface readily climbable by them. The double pitfall trapsinclude slick (low friction) upstanding surfaces that crawlingarthropods cannot climb so that they are trapped in the pitfall traps,preventing them from moving between furniture (or other object) and thefloor. Crawling arthropods moving on the device will fall into one ofthe traps and can be killed by an optional killing agent (soapy water,ethylene glycol, diatomaceous earth. etc.) provided in one or both ofthe pitfall traps and/or on one or more pitfall trap surfaces.

The present invention is advantageous and useful as a bed buginterception coaster device which serves to detect bed bugs approachingand departing the bed, sofa or other object and to monitor the efficacyof extermination efforts. The present invention enlists observed bed bugresponses to the presence of a host, tactile surfaces, and gravity.Humans are effectively acting as bait for a trap.

Other advantages of the intercepting device of the present inventionwill become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription taken with the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c are perspective, plan and sectional views,respectively of a one-piece intercepting device pursuant to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a two-piece intercepting device pursuantto another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a one-piece or multi-piece interceptingdevice for intercepting crawling arthropods that include, but are notlimited to, crawling insects, spiders, millipedes, centipedes,scorpions, and others. An embodiment of the invention provides anintercepting device comprising an upstanding, exterior climbable surfacethat crawling arthropods can climb and further comprises upstandingpitfall trap surfaces that are disposed inwardly of the climbablesurface to form multiple pitfall traps where crawling arthropods aretrapped in a manner preventing them from moving between the floor (whichincludes the ground) and an arthropod-climbable upstanding surface of anobject such as including, but not limited to, a leg of furniture (bed,sofa, chair, etc.) or other object such as including, but not limitedto, kitchen and other appliances, a walker, wheel chair (whose wheelsare parked on the devices), computer, TV, stereo, other electronic andother equipment, and the like to intercept and trap crawling arthropodsleaving the object to forage for a blood meal. The intercepting devicealso can be placed on the floor or ground adjacent an object tointercept crawling arthropods in the vicinity of the object.

An inner pitfall trap can comprise an inner receptacle for receiving aclimbable portion of the object (e.g. a support or base leg of furnitureor other object) and an outer pitfall trap can comprise an outerreceptacle (moat) disposed about the inner receptacle such that thereceptacles provide double pitfall traps.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention provides an interceptingdevice D described herebelow having an inner receptacle 20 for receivinga furniture leg L and crawling arthropod intercepting annular-shaped,outer receptacle 22 disposed about the leg-receiving inner receptacle20. The device comprises an upstanding exterior antropod-climbablesurface 14 a that crawling arthropods can climb and double (first andsecond) pitfall traps P1, P2 disposed inwardly of the exterior surface14 a for trapping the arthropods and formed by receptacles 20, 22,respectively. The exterior surface 14 a is rendered tacticallyattractive to crawling arthropods by having a fibrous or otherwise roughsurface to render the exterior surface 14 a readily climbable by thecrawling arthropods. The double pitfall traps include slick (lowfriction) upstanding pitfall trap surfaces 12 a, 12 b, and 14 b thatcrawling arthropods cannot climb or have difficulty climbing so thatthey are trapped in the traps P1, P2, preventing antropods from movingbetween furniture (or other object) and the floor. Arthropods moving onthe intercepting device will fall into the receptacles 20 and/or 22 andbe trapped and can be killed by an optional killing agent (soapy water,ethylene glycol, diatomaceous earth. etc.) inside the coaster device.

Referring to FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c , a particular illustrative one-pieceintercepting device D comprises a bottom wall 10 for resting on a floor(or ground) and inner and outer upstanding peripheral walls 12, 14 thatare molded, cast, machined, or otherwise formed integral with the bottomwall 10 and collectively form a respective inner receptacle 20 andouter, annular receptacle (moat) 22 such that the receptacles providethe double pitfall traps P1, P2. The climbable surface 14 a and thepitfall trap surface 14 b are disposed on outer peripheral wall 14,while the pitfall trap surfaces 12 a, 12 b are disposed on the innerperipheral wall 12 of the one-piece device. Although the walls 12,14 areshown as circular, the invention is not so limited since the walls 12,14 can have any shape or configuration.

The inner receptacle 20 is adapted to receive a furniture leg L (e.g.bed leg, sofa leg, chair leg, and the like or other arthropod climbableportion of another object).

The arthropod intercepting device can be molded of durable material suchas high density polyethylene or polypropylene thermoplastic. Theexterior climbable surface 14 a of the outer peripheral wall 14 has asurface texture rough enough to render the exterior surface readilyclimbable by the crawling arthropods. For purposes of illustration, theexterior surface 14 a has a surface roughness Ra greater than about 300microinches. To this end, the exterior climbable surface 14 a of theouter peripheral wall 14 can be textured or covered with fabric (e.g.fabric with fibers 10 to 181 microns in diameter or sawdust to providetraction for bed bug tarsal claws) to facilitate arthropods climbing thewall 14. Alternately, a rough texture can be molded, machined orotherwise provided on the surface 14 b to this end. The upstandingsurfaces 12 a, 12 b of the peripheral wall 12 and the upstanding innerperipheral surface 14 b of the outer peripheral wall 14 are slippery(low friction) so that crawling arthropods cannot climb or havedifficulty climbing the surfaces whereby they are trapped in the innerreceptacle 20 or outer receptacle 22, preventing arthropods from movingbetween the furniture and the floor. The slippery surfaces can have theappropriate low friction as result of being made of a slippery material,such as polymer, glass, or polished metallic material having arelatively low coefficient of friction and/or by providing afriction-reducing (lubricating) substance thereon to this end. Forpurposes of illustration, the surfaces 12 a, 12 b and 14 b have a moldedor polished surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less tothis end.

A lubricating (friction-reducing) powder P preferably is dusted onto thepitfall trap surfaces 12 a, 12 b, and 14 b as a thin dust layer and alsoplaced inside the smaller inner receptacle 20 effective to preventarthropods from moving out of the inner receptacle 20 and outerreceptacle 22. The powder can comprise talcum powder,polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles or powder, or other particle orpowder substances capable of rendering the surfaces unlikable bycrawling arthropods after the powder is applied. The powder can beapplied to surfaces 12 a, 12 b, 14 b using a cotton ball carrying thepowder and brushing or dusting the surfaces 12, 12 b, 14 b with thecotton ball to deposit a thin powder layer thereon. Other non-powderfriction-reducing substances also can be applied to the surfaces 12 a,112 b, and 14 b to this end.

If a user does not wish to handle live trapped crawling arthropods,insects or pests, an optional killing agent KA (e.g. a powder or liquidsuch as ethylene glycol, soapy water, candle or other oil) may be placedon one or more of the pitfall trap surfaces and/or inside thereceptacles.

In practice of an embodiment of the invention, a distance of one (1) cmor more is provided between the inner and outer peripheral walls 12, 14.For purposes of illustration and not limitation, the thickness of thewalls 12, 14 can be about 3 cm, while the height of the walls 12, 14 canbe about 3-5 cm with the inner wall 12 being one (1) cm higher than theouter wall 14 in the event the furniture does not have any legs or thelegs are very short. The diameter of inner receptacle 20 can be 8 cm orgreater.

According to an illustrative method embodiment of the invention, thedevice D is placed on a floor under each leg L of furniture, FIG. 1c ,to prevent crawling arthropods from moving between the furniture and thefloor F on which the furniture resides. The lubricating powder P (e.g.talcum powder) is dusted as a thin dust layer onto the pitfall trapsurfaces 12 a, 12 b, 14 b and placed inside the smaller receptacle 20 toprevent crawling arthropods from moving out of the receptacles 20, 22.The lubricating powder can be applied before or after the device isplaced under the furniture leg. The killing agent KA (e.g. a powder orliquid such as ethylene glycol, soapy water, candle oil, etc.) may beoptionally placed inside the larger annular receptacle 22 but may beomitted.

The intercepting device can comprise multiple components such asillustrated in FIG. 2 where the device is shown including twocomponents; namely, an inner, smaller coaster device 100 having a bottomwall 102 and upstanding peripheral wall 112 forming a receptacle 120(pitfall trap P1) to receive a furniture leg. The inner smaller coasterdevice resides in a larger coaster device 200 having a bottom wall 202and upstanding peripheral wall 214 forming a larger receptacle 220(pitfall trap P2) to receive the inner coaster device 100 such thatreceptacles provide double pitfall traps. The coaster device 220includes an upstanding, exterior climbable surface 214 a. The coasterdevices include pitfall trap surfaces 112 a, 112 b, and 214 b. Onceassembled, there is a one (1) cm or more distance between the twocoaster devices 100, 200 (i.e. between peripheral walls 112, 214). Thethickness of the coaster walls 112, 214 can be about 3 cm. The height ofthe coaster devices can be 3-5 cm and diameter of the small coasterdevice can be 8 cm or more. The smaller coaster device 100 can be 1 cmhigher than larger coaster device 200 in case the furniture does nothave any legs or the legs are very short.

A lubricating powder (not shown) of the type described above is appliedonto pitfall trap surfaces 112 a, 112 b, and 114 b and placed inside thesmaller coaster 100 effective to prevent crawling arthropods from movingout of the pitfall traps P1, P2. An optional killing agent (not shown inFIG. 2 but see FIG. 1c ) such as a powder or liquid including, but notlimited to, ethylene glycol, soapy water, candle oil, etc. may be placedon one or more of the pitfall trap surfaces and/or inside the outer,larger coaster 200.

According to another method embodiment of the invention, the smallercoaster device 100 is placed inside the larger coaster device 200. Thesmaller coaster device 100 is either permanently fixed to the center ofthe larger coaster device 200, or can be separate from the largercoaster device 200. Each furniture leg L is placed inside a respectivesmaller coaster device 100 on the floor. The lubricating powder P (e.g.talcum powder) is dusted as a thin dust layer onto the pitfall trapsurfaces 112 a, 112 b, 114 b and placed inside the smaller receptacle 20to prevent crawling arthropods from moving out of the receptacles 120,220. The lubricating powder can be applied before or after the device isplaced under the furniture leg. If a user does not wish to handle livetrapped crawling arthropods, an optional killing agent (a powder orliquid such as ethylene glycol, soapy water, candle oil) may be placedon one or more of the pitfall trap surfaces and/or inside the largercoaster device 200.

EXAMPLES

The present invention is useful as a bed bug interception coasterdevice, FIG. 1a-1c or FIG. 2, which serves to detect bed bugsapproaching and departing the bed, sofa or other object and to monitorthe efficacy of extermination efforts. The present invention enlistsobserved bed bug responses to the presence of a host, tactile surfaces,and gravity. Humans are effectively acting as bait for a trap.

In an example, the bed bug interception coaster device is placed on thefloor under every leg of bed or upholstered furniture where bed bugactivity is suspected and/or where people sleep. The coaster deviceprovides a mechanical barrier between the floor and person and providesa tactically attractive climbing surface for bed bugs to climb into thecoaster device. Also, the coaster device provides a mechanical barrierbetween the bed bugs in the mattress and the harborage locations in theremainder of the room.

The bed bug interception coaster device is designed for use by thegeneral public or professional pest control technicians as a mechanismfor detecting the presence of a suspected bed bug infestation, as apreventative to re-infestation after control measures have beeneffective, and as a means of determining if a bed bug infestationremains in the bedding or is coming from hiding places in the room.

Bed bugs may be trapped alive in the two capture chambers (i.e.receptacles 20, 22 or 120, 220). When the coaster device is serviced,bed bugs may be brushed out or flushed out of the capture receptacle(moat) 22 or 220 with water for disposal in sanitary sewer or intocontainer for kill by crushing or microwave prior to disposal in trash.A drying powder such as dust of silica dioxide or a drowning liquid suchas candle oil may be placed in either capture receptacle 20, 22. Thetrap is durable and reusable.

The bed bug interception coaster device can have dimensions describedabove in connection with FIGS. 1a-1c and 2. The height of the exteriorclimbing wall 14 is not limited by bed bug behavior. Since bed bugscrawl on top of one another, the depth of the capture moat (receptacle22 or 220) may be increased to hold more bed bugs between servicing oftrap. Also, the trap may be made of polypropylene or any otherthermoplastic, glass, ceramics, metals, finish treatments on polishedwood or finish treatments on paper that can provide a mirror to satinfinish hard surface.

The climbing surface of the bed bug interception coaster device may bevertical or slope at an acute angle or at an obtuse angle to the floorF. The climbing surface 14 a or 214 a must provide enough traction(surface roughness) for the bed bugs to engage their hooked tarsal clawsmuch like a person climbing a ladder. Surface roughness (Ra) in excessof 300 microinch as is present in unfinished wood or sand-paper providessufficient traction on the outer peripheral wall. To provide traction,the climbing surface of the outer peripheral wall is covered in fabriccomposed of synthetic or natural fibers with a diameter of 10 microns to181 microns, sawdust, or molded paper pulp.

The walls of the smooth capture moat (receptacle 22 or 220) are near tovertical to create the pitfall. The surface of the capture moat is to besmooth enough that no traction is provided for the bed bugs to engagetheir hooked tarsal claws on surface irregularities. A hard surfacefinish of high density polypropylene or polypropylene with a roughnessaverage (Ra) of 100 microinch (2.54 micron) or less, smooth glass orpolished metal does not provide traction for the bed bugs.

Bed bug interceptor devices of the multi-component type described abovewere tested in bed bug infested apartment building. The devices wereplaced under legs of beds and sofas that had been treated by steam forthe control of bed bugs. The devices were monitored for three weeks. Alldevices collected bed bugs.

Effectiveness of bed bug coasters (interception devices) for reducingbed bug numbers and evaluating treatment efficacy. The coasters(interception devices of FIG. 2) were installed under legs of furniture.The apartments were treated with hot steam and insecticide dust or sprayimmediately before the installation of coasters. Additional treatmentswere applied 2-3 times during the course of the study.

TABLE 1 Effectiveness of bed bug coasters (interception devices) forreducing bed bug numbers and evaluation treatment efficacy. The coasters(inception devices of FIG. 2) were installed under legs of furniture.The apartments were treated with hot steam and insecticide dust or sprayimmediately before the installation of coasters. Additional treatmentswere applied 2-3 times during the course of the study. Total number ofbed bugs trapped in coasters Coaster after initial treatment Apartmentlocations 0-2 week 2-4 week 4-6 week 6-8 week 1 Sofa, bed 246 95 43 26 2Bed 34 5 2 0 3 Bed 20 1 0 0 4 Bed 12 4 7 7 5 Bed 6 1 0 1 6 Bed 58 14 7 77 Sofa, bed 22 7 8 4 8 Bed 71 444 226 291

Effectiveness of bed bug coasters (interception devices of FIG. 2)installed under furniture. The coasters (interception devices) wereinstalled under legs of furniture. The apartments were treated with hotsteam and insecticide dust or spray immediately before the installationof coasters. The small coaster corresponds to the inner receptacle andthe large coaster corresponds to the annular receptacle described abovefor the insect intercepting device. Additional treatments were applied2-3 times during the course of the study.

TABLE 2 Effectiveness of bed bug coasters (inception devices of FIG. 2)installed under furniture. The coasters (interception devices) wereinstalled under legs of furniture. The apartments were treated with hotsteam and insecticide dust of spray immediately before the installationof coasters. The small coaster corresponds to the inner receptacle andthe large coaster corresponds to the annular receptacle described abovefor the insect intercepting device. Additional treatments were applied2-3 times during the course of the study. Total number of trapped bedbugs in 8 weeks Apartment Small coaster Large coaster 1 38 372 2 2 39 31 20 4 0 30 5 0 8 6 1 85 7 1 40 8 54 978

In still another test, bed bug interceptor devices of the type describedabove in connection with FIGS. 1a, 1b having pitfall trap surfaces (12a, 12 b,14 b) lubricated with talcum powder were tested in thirteen (13)apartments from a high-rise building that had previous bed buginfestations or that were adjacent to apartments with knowninfestations. Visual inspection, resident awareness, and the bed buginterceptor devices were evaluated for detecting very light bed buginfestations in these apartments.

The inspections revealed that all 13 apartments were infested with bedbugs. Average bed bug count was 6.7 per apartment. Among the residentsinterviewed, only four of ten said they noticed bed bug bites. Aftervisual inspection and hand removal of bed bugs, the bed bug interceptordevices were installed under furniture legs. After seven days, anaverage of 8.8 bed bugs per apartment was captured using the interceptordevices.

The bug interceptor devices pursuant to the invention thus were moreeffective than visual inspections for determining the presence/absenceof bed bugs and estimating bed bug numbers. The devices effectivelydetected low levels of bed bug infestation. Because the devices removebed bugs, they provide immediate relief to residents from bites andreduce the need for insecticide applications as they catch the bugs. Theintercepting device pursuant to the invention can be used as an insectbarrier and/or insect monitor by home owners, hotel managers, apartmentmanagers, pest control managers and others. The devices are advantageousin that they are convenient to use, efficient, and low in cost.

In another example of practice of another method embodiment of theinvention, one-piece interceptor devices of the type described abovewere tested by being placed on the floor immediately beside or adjacenta refrigerator in six different apartments. Counts for cockroaches weremade 2-3 weeks after deployment. Cockroach count was 1, 2, 9, 58, 0, and49, respectively for the six different apartments. Scorpions and bedbugs also have been captured with intercepting devices placed on floors.Suitable baits can be placed on or in the intercepting device inpracticing this embodiment.

The invention envisions in an alternative embodiment an interceptingdevice of the type described above yet bifurcated or formed as multipleparts to provide capability to install the device around the base of aheavy or immovable object. For example, by removing the floor or bottomwall of the inner pitfall (inner receptacle), cutting the device in half(e.g. along a diameter), lap beveling the edges, and adding a anoptional snap-fit or clasping element, the device can be provided withfurther utility and flexibility. In the absence of the floor or bottomwall of the inner pitfall, some glue, putty, or tape may be needed toproperly seal the device to an irregular floor, thereby preventing thebed bugs and other arthropods from crawling under the device. The floorof the inner pitfall then could be reinserted into the inner pitfall(inner recpetable) to return the device to ordinary operation.

Although the present invention has been described above in connectionwith certain illustrative embodiments, those skilled in the art willappreciate that changes and modifications can be made thereto within thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

REFERENCES

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We claim:
 1. A bed bug intercepting device for placement under a supportleg of furniture or other object, comprising an upstanding, exteriorclimbable surface that slopes upwardly at an angle to vertical and thatbed bugs can climb, an inner support-leg receiving receptacle forreceiving said support leg to provide a path for bed bugs to enter thedevice from the support leg wherein the inner receptacle is bounded byan upstanding peripheral surface and includes a bottom surface region onwhich said support leg is received, and an outer receptacle forming anouter pitfall trap wherein the outer receptacle is disposed between theinner receptacle and the exterior climbable surface, wherein the outerreceptacle includes an upstanding inner peripheral surface and anupstanding outer peripheral surface, said inner peripheral surface andsaid outer peripheral surface of the outer receptacle having a surfaceroughness that is slippery to prevent bed bugs that enter the outerreceptacle from climbing out, whereby bed bugs are trapped in the outerreceptacle.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the exterior surface has abed bug tarsal claw-engageable surface rough texture so that theexterior surface is readily climbable by bed bugs.
 3. The device ofclaim 2 wherein the exterior surface has a surface roughness Ra greaterthan about 300 microinches.
 4. The device of claim 3 wherein theexterior surface is molded or machined with roughness to render theexterior surface readily climbable by bed bugs.
 5. The device of claim 2wherein the exterior surface texture is formed by fibrous material. 6.The device of claim 5 wherein the fibrous material comprises fabric,sawdust, sandpaper or paper pulp disposed on the outer peripheral wall.7. The device of claim 1 wherein the outer receptacle is annular inshape.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein said inner peripheral surfaceand said outer peripheral surface of the outer receptacle each has asurface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.
 9. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said inner peripheral surface and said outer peripheralsurface of the outer receptacle each comprises a polymer surface. 10.The device of claim 1 wherein said inner peripheral surface and saidouter peripheral surface of the outer receptacle each comprises a glasssurface.
 11. The device of claim 1 wherein said inner peripheral surfaceand said outer peripheral surface of the outer receptacle each comprisesa polished metallic surface.
 12. The device of claim 1 wherein each ofsaid inner peripheral surface and said outer peripheral surface of theouter receptacle is lubricated to be slippery so that bed bugs cannotclimb them.
 13. The device of claim 12 wherein said inner peripheralsurface and said outer peripheral surface of the outer receptacle eachis lubricated with a powder.
 14. The device of claim 1 wherein theupstanding inner peripheral surface and the upstanding outer peripheralsurface are configured to allow visual inspection of the outerreceptacle from above.
 15. A method of intercepting bed bugs between aclimbable upstanding surface of furniture and a floor, comprisingplacing the device of claim 1 under the climbable surface of thefurniture with the climbable surface received in the inner receptacle ofthe intercepting device to provide a path for bed bugs to enter thedevice from the furniture and using a human using the furniture as baitfor bed bugs.
 16. The method of claim 15 including visually inspectingthe device to monitor any bed bugs trapped in the outer pitfall trap.